


An Unceremonious Thump

by emmars



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Fluff, garden, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-03
Updated: 2015-09-03
Packaged: 2018-04-18 19:26:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4717682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmars/pseuds/emmars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi and his friends always manage to get into trouble. But police are nothing compared to what waits over the garden fence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Unceremonious Thump

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first (completed) SnK fic! It's pretty short, one chapter, all fluff, no swearing or angst. But I'm actually really happy with it! However, if there are any grammatical or formatting errors do not hesitate to let me know! So yeah, please enjoy, feel free to comment or leave kudos if you're so inclined. Thank you! -emmars

“SON OF A-!” Levi muttered expletives as he scrambled forward. “FARLAN RUN FASTER WILL YOU?!”

“I DON’T SEE WHY I’M RUNNING. IT’S NOT LIKE ANY OF THIS IS MY FAULT,” he hollered back. “I’M NOT THE ONE WHO DECIDED TO GRAFFITI THAT GUY’S WALL--”

“YOU STOOD THERE AND WATCHED!”

“NOT BY CHOICE!”

“BOTH OF YOU, CUT IT OUT!” Isabel shoved past them, shouting over the approaching sirens. “WE NEED TO GET OFF THIS MAIN ROAD OR ELSE WE’RE IN FOR IT!”

Briefly glancing around, Levi made an executive decision. Time to cut some corners, he thought. He managed eye contact with his two cohorts, and tilted his head to the right, indicating a series of suburban backyards. When she realized what he was trying to say, Isabel grinned, a manic look in her eye. Despite the unease in Farlan’s expression, he too nodded. With that, the three made a sharp right turn and began bounding over hedges. They heard a squeal of tires as the police cars came to a halt; the wailing of the sirens didn’t stop though, so neither did they.

Isabel laughed in delight. “HA! We sure showed them, huh Big Bro?” Levi rolled his eyes at her ridiculous nickname for him. He turned in order to respond, but all the sudden he heard Farlan give a shout of alarm. Whipping his head forward again, his eyes widened slightly at the sight before him. He heard Isabel’s laughter fade as the trio came to the sudden realization that directly ahead of them was a wooden fence, five feet high and rapidly approaching.

“C…can we make that?” Isabel murmured, more to herself than to Levi or Farlan.

“We’re gonna have to try,” Farlan called back, “if we stop now--” He didn’t need to finish the sentence, because at that moment the shouts of angry officers began to fill the air. So, they each gritted their teeth and continued to run full-speed at the obstacle before them.

20 feet away… then 15 feet… then 10… then 5… “NOW!” yelled Levi, and the three leapt into the air. They sailed for a moment or two, and then three very unceremonious thumps echoed one right after the other.

“Ooowwww…” moaned Isabel, rubbing her butt where she’d landed, hard. “Was that really necessary?”

“Yes, it was,” Levi responded, immediately standing up and brushing himself off. Uggh, muck, he thought to himself, and his face scrunched up ever so slightly. He heard Isabel and Farlan stand as well; both were panting heavily. He turned to face them. “I can’t afford another run-in with the cops. Even I realize that.”

“So why do you always have to cause trouble?!” Farlan sighed, exasperated. “Can you go one day without dragging us along on some crazy scheme?! Me and Izzy don’t need this crap- we’d be just fine if you didn’t always--” Alas, that was yet another thought Farlan was never able to finish. Suddenly there was an audible gasp, and then a whimper.

The trio’s attention shifted from each other to the noise behind them. In all the confusion, they had forgotten about where they landed… someone’s yard.

The sounds made them turn, and there behind them they saw three kids. Well, teenagers. They only seemed a few years younger than the trespassers- 15, maybe 16. There was a boy with brown hair that stuck up in various directions, as if it couldn’t decide where it wanted to go, and green eyes that were blazing. There was also a girl with jet-black hair that fell across her eyes, and a boy whose blonde hair was cut into a bowl shape, usually unflattering but somehow very fitting for him. Levi was trying to decide which of the three was most comical. Each one’s expression spoke a great deal about their personalities.

Coconut Head looked utterly distraught. He had his hand over his mouth, his forehead was creased with concern, and… were those tears in his eyes?! This kid looked like Levi had just shot his puppy. This worried him, not because the kid was upset, but because his friends obviously were. One stood by each of the boy’s shoulders in a protective stance. Their body language seemed to say, “You’ve hurt our friend. Now you’re going to regret it.” The green-eyed boy had a look of complete rage on his face. His eyes were wide, and his heavyset brow cast a menacing shadow across his snarling features. The girl, on the other hand, wore an expression that betrayed little emotion, but somehow left almost nothing about her feelings to the imagination. Levi wasn’t sure which one made him more nervous. On top of that, he wasn’t even sure why he was nervous. He had been to jail. Well, holding. But still! He was a hardened thug. In the suburbs at least. He could take these little punks… right?

What were they so upset about anyway? I mean, yeah, Farlan and Isabel and he were trespassing, but it’s not like they were planning to stick around or break in or anything. What was the problem? That was when Coconut reached out a shaking hand, and pointed towards Levi’s feet.

“Y-y-you…” he began, voice trembling. “You’re s-standing on m-m-my c-c-c-cabbages!” he hiccupped.

“What?” Levi asked in bewilderment. He looked down. This was his first time actually inspecting what he and the others had landed on. It was… a garden. A vegetable garden. Why am I not surprised this kid grows cabbage in his spare time? Levi thought to himself.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” Isabel cried, immediately jumping away from the patch of soil. She grabbed Farlan by the elbow and dragged him with her. “We swear, we didn’t mean to! We were running from the cops and—LEVI!”

“What?!” he glared at her.

“You are stepping,” she hissed, “on his cabbages!”

“So?”

“So move!”

Levi rolled his eyes. He took a stride long enough to get him just outside of the little patch. “Alright, can we go now? Not that this little powwow hasn’t been fun, but we’ve got places to be, so…” he turned to Isabel and Farlan. To his surprise, they were paying him no mind. Instead, they were looking sadly at the little huddle that approached them upon arrival.

Cabbage Boy was now full-on crying, tears streaming down his face. Meanwhile the other two were desperately trying to comfort him, to no avail.

“W-w-we wuh-worked so-o ha-ard!” he sobbed. “E-everythi-ing wa-as *hic* coming in so *hic*,” he paused to sniffle, then continued, “N-NIIICCEE!” he wailed.

“Oh my god,” Levi said, slightly shell-shocked by the sudden outburst. “What’s your deal? They’re plants. They grow back you know.”  
The boy turned to him, wide-eyed. The other two looked up as well. It wasn’t long before their looks of incredulity turned to looks of anger again.

“How dare you?!” spat the boy who wasn’t having a break down. “You’re just making things worse! Usually when people make mistakes, they own up to it and apologize! What’s your deal?!”

The girl approached him silently. Levi refused to back down, meeting her steely gaze without hesitation. “Apologize,” she said quietly.

“Tch,” Levi scoffed, “Fine. I apologize.”

“Not good enough,” she stated.

“Well, what do you want me to do?!” he asked angrily, “The stupid thing is already trampled,” he gestured to the little plot of land. “It’s not like I can un-jump on it!”

Her eyes narrowed. Apparently this response was unsatisfactory. “You need to make things right. You need to fix this. Armin worked months to perfect that garden.” Without realizing it, she had begun to cause Levi to back up. She continued, “We all did. Eren, Armin, and I spent all our money on seeds, all our time tending plants, and filled countless journals with pictures and notes and data.” Once Levi felt his back hit the fence, he knew he couldn’t go any further. She didn’t stop until her nose was practically touching his. “You need to make things right,” she said again. “You need to fix this.”

Levi glanced over at Isabel and Farlan, who were watching it all unfold with amused looks. He returned his gaze to the girl. Intimidation isn’t gonna work, brat, he thought. Suddenly he heard another sniffle. Instinctively he turned toward the sound. Coconut Head was watching with damp eyes. His face was the epitome of a puppy-dog look. Levi hesitated, and then:

“God, okay, fine!” he sighed. “Here, take this. Just stop with that look already!” he reached into his pocket, and pulled out several crumpled dollar bills of varying amounts. He held them out to her. “Will this cover the damage?” he asked. She looked at his outstretched hand, then back up to him, then over at her two companions, as if to get their opinion. Although the brunet still looked skeptical, the blond broke away from his friend, bounded over, and took Levi’s hand.

“Thank you,” he whispered, a smile just barely crossing his features. He cautiously accepted the offer.

“You didn’t even count it. How can you be sure it’s enough?” Levi asked him.

Coconut, who Levi was now beginning to realize was named Armin, shrugged. “Does it really matter?” he replied. “It’s the thought that counts. At least you were nice enough to repay some of it. That’s more than most would have, I bet!”

This is the most nauseatingly optimistic person I have ever met, Levi thought to himself, though deep down, he was a little bit pleased to have made amends. Isabel and Farlan, along with the boy called Eren, made their way over to the scene by the fence.

“Levi may have paid you back, but I still feel bad,” Farlan began. Isabel nodded in agreement as he went on, “I’d like to do something else. Is there anything you need, or want for that matter?”

“Hmm…” Armin wrinkled his face, in deep thought. Suddenly, his eyes lit up like a little spark had gone off in his brain. “I know! Do you guys want to help us replant?”

“What?!” Levi shook his head, wondering if he’d heard him right.

“WHAT?!” Eren and the girl cried in unison.

“That’s a great idea!” gasped Isabel. “It’s perfect! This way we can help with any damage we caused, and it’ll give Levi something to do to keep him out of trouble! Isn’t this great Levi?” she turned, smiling happily.

“Well… I mean…” Levi began to attempt an excuse, then thought better of it. He sighed in defeat. “Only because I have a conscience. Definitely not because gardening is my idea of a good time.”

“YAY!” Isabel cheered. She slung an arm around his shoulders. “Then it’s settled! Add three to your grounds crew!”

“Wait, wait, don’t Mikasa and I get a say in this?!” Eren protested, “I mean, Armin, come on! They’re the ones who wrecked it in the first place--”

“And they want to help fix it,” Armin interrupted, suddenly calm. “Why deny them? The more the merrier right?”

“But--” he tried to continue, but Armin’s eyes grew wide again and his lower lip began to quiver. Over Armin’s shoulder, Mikasa shot Eren a withering look. There seemed to be two different silent conversations going on at once as Eren looked desperately back and forth between the two. Finally, he cracked under the pressure. “Well, I mean, it is technically your garden, so…”

“Yay! Thank you Eren!” Armin threw his arms around the taller boy, so suddenly that Eren was almost startled into falling over.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever,” he muttered, though there was a small smile on his face.

Maybe this won’t be so bad, thought Levi.

 

That summer…

 

The six friends sat on the patio, drinking lemonade. The June evening was warm, the air humid and sticky, but the drone of the cicadas and the setting sun over the rooftops made them forget all their discomforts. The garden had nearly doubled in size since Levi and his friends crash-landed on top of it almost three months ago. Now, in addition to the patch of vegetables, there were several kinds of flowers, shrubs, and small trees that had taken root in the yard. Each one held a different story. Some of the seeds they had found in sheds and storage bins, others had been presents to each other on special events, and more still were ones they’d bought together. The view was spectacular.

Each of them sat peacefully as they watched the golden rays dip below the horizon and the night sky begin to dim. Armin and Farlan sat stretched out on lawn chairs, each of their glasses carefully resting beside them as they quietly listened to the breezes blowing past and the cars driving by. Isabel was perched on the edge of the porch table. She swung her legs back and forth and just barely missed Eren, who was sat on the ground next to Mikasa. Eren laughed and dodged her feet, the two of them turning it into a game and giggling like mad every time they came close. Mikasa sighed contentedly and merely adjusted her position so that she could lay her head against Eren’s shoulder. Levi leaned against the sliding door behind them, watching all that was going on as he sipped his drink.

It was moments like these when Levi could look around and marvel at how well they all fit together. Such a rag-tag team of misfits… the worrier, the red-head, the fighter, the intellectual, the belligerent, and the criminal. Somehow they all had come together, and it was the best decision Levi had ever made. Would he give up his past, his life of crime? No, because it had led him to this. And this… this was a choice with no regrets.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you enjoy the story? I hope so! It's pretty cute- or at least, I think it is. It was inspired by an AU prompt list I saw on Tumblr. Thank you so much for your support! -emmars


End file.
